


Skye the Matchmaker

by Parasite_Satellite



Series: Golden Candy [2]
Category: Fortnite (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blushing, F/M, Gen, Injury Recovery, Jules and Midas are siblings, Midas is an Idiot, Minor Injuries, Skye is a good friend, Skye is a hopeless romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29593662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parasite_Satellite/pseuds/Parasite_Satellite
Summary: When Skye notices a bit of chemistry between her friends, she makes it her mission to get them together. One problem, do they know they have feelings for each other? Obviously, Zoey knows, but does Midas?
Relationships: Midas/Zoey (Fortnite)
Series: Golden Candy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171937
Kudos: 1





	Skye the Matchmaker

The patter of heavy raindrops from outside her window woke Skye up in fright. She bolted up from her bed in a gasp. Skye looked around her pitch-black bedroom. The only form of illumination she had was the green glow in the dark stars that decorated both her walls and ceiling. Taking in a couple of breaths, she laid her head back onto her large, soft pillows in an attempt to fall back into slumber. 

Skye scoffed. She was sleeping, pleasantly dreaming before the rude awaking. In her dreams, she was on another one of her fantastical adventures with Guff and Ollie. From defeating fire breathing dragons to journeying through magical worlds commonly seen in fantasy books. Skye loved dreaming. Recently, her life has been changing so much, with the island temporarily flooding, losing her job at The Shark, being lied to about her friend's betrayal and reuniting with said friend. For her, it felt nice to escape from it all, if only for a few hours. 

The memories of The Shark made Skye snuggle deeper into her covers. She loved living at The Shark. For months it was her home, her paradise. Even after it converted into a Ghost prison, Skye still enjoyed both working and living there. Never before had Skye expected to be working as a prison governor at seventeen. But she loved it even if the paperwork got a bit difficult sometimes. Luckily, they had Midas to help her. Skye tossed, she missed The Shark, now she was living with TNTina in Salty Springs. It's not like Skye didn't like living with Tina. Skye adored TNTina. They were like a big sister to her. However, she missed her old bedroom.

The rain stopped just as quickly as it appeared. It grew silent. Skye smiled to herself, slowly falling back into her slumber. For Skye, it was difficult for her to sleep through loud noises. It had to be silent for her to fall back to sleep. Just as she was about to succumb to slumber, a rapid knock at the front door woke her up in fright. Sitting up straight, her eyes wide as the knocking continued. Getting out of her bed and dashing down to the front door, her mind began to wonder who was on the other side of the door. Maybe someone from Salty Springs needed help, and they were the only people they could get. Worst-case scenario, some rouge Shadow Agents had found them and were ready to cause harm to them. 

Skye now stood inches away from the front door. The knocking was becoming rapid. However, she wasn't scared. Skye is one of the highest-ranked members of Ghost. She knows self-defense skills that would protect her from people. Skye knew how to disarm Shadow agents. Whoever was outside her door, the young agent could take them down. She was Skye, the worlds greatest adventurer. When she opened the door, her body froze. Standing on the other side was her best friend, Zoey. In her arms, she carried a badly injured, unconscious Midas. Behind her was Midas' little sister, Jules. Like her brother, her body was covered in various injuries, though they weren't as serve as his. 

"Hey, Skye." Zoey sputtered out. She sounded like she was out of breath. "Look, do you have your phone on you? We need Remedy now."

"Midas!" The cheerful squeal of the young agent echoes through the house as Skye skipped into the spare room of her home. Since Zoey arrived, Midas has stayed in Skye and TNTina's extra bedroom to heal up on his injuries from the night Chaos Agent attacked him. Luckily for him, Midas was in good hands. Skye was able to keep him company whilst Jules and Zoey visited in their free hours to check up on him. 

Skye looked straight to the bed. Midas shifted a little as he slowly sat up straight, yawing in the process. "Skye," He groaned, looking to the clock next to him. "It's too early. I need a couple more minutes."

"Nonsense," Skye huffed, waving her hand at him before walking over to the windows, opening up the curtains to expose the bright sunny sky outside. "It's the weekend. You can't just sleep through it. You'll miss it! Plus, do you really want to miss breakfast?"

Midas sighed, gently stretching his arms out over his head. "Fine," he muttered. "Just let me get dressed, and I'll join you guys in a minute." He turned his body to the side of the bed, ready to get up.

Quickly, walking to his side of the bed. Skye held out her hand to Midas. "Do you want help getting up?" She asked cheerfully. 

Midas quietly shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I can manage on my own now."

Skye nodded at Midas, standing back to give him some space. Midas gently lifted himself up from his bed, slightly wobbling when he stood. Midas took a few steps, limping as they made his way towards the wardrobe where his clothes where hanging. He looked at his body before turning to Skye. "Looks like I need to have my bandages changed." He noted.

With a small smile on her face, Skye gave a salute to her former boss. She answered in a sing-song voice. "I'll get the first aid kit ready then." She left the room to give Midas some privacy as she darted downstairs towards the kitchen. 

TNTina hummed to herself while she used a knife to cover her toast with Strawberry jam. Across the table from her was Skye, pouring cereal into her bowl in front of her. Both girls made eye contact with each other. The two grinned as Tina went to pick up another piece of toast. "So," TNTina began, spreading marmalade on her second piece of toast. "What are you going to today then? Any adventures planned?"

The younger girl stopped pouring her cereal, placing it to the side of her bowl. Picking up the milk as she answered Tina's questions. "Currently, I have nothing specific planned for today. I might have a lazy weekend this week," Skye started to pour the milk, keeping her focus on the bowl. "Then again, Ollie or Guff might come up with something interesting, so who knows."

As Skye poured her milk, TNTina placed her toast down on her plate, and she picked up the newspaper in front of her, the date reading the 7th of November. She looked through the paper to see if any interesting news stories popped up. 

"What about you?" Skye asked curiously, no longer pouring the milk into her cereal. "Don't you have any plans for the weekend?"

TNTina placed the newspaper to her side, a smirk growing on her face when she picked up a piece of jam covered toast. She boasted while she ate. "Yeah, planing to hang with some mates on Sunday. Might go on a joy ride if I feel like it."

As the girls talked to one another, Midas slowly walked down the stairs, holding onto the railings, carefully making his way to the bottom. He staggered when he made his way towards the dining table to join the others for breakfast. He groaned as he continued to hobble. Never before has he felt so pathetic. The pain was tolerable now, but it still ate at him. He figured it might be a while before he completely heals up. Midas has been injured before, but never to the degree of being bedridden for almost four days. If you exclude being enslaved to Shadow and losing his eye to his ex, this, and the shark attack, are probably the two worst things to have happened to him. 

He looked at himself through the small mirror that hung near the bottom of the stairs. Midas looked unkempt. His hair was a complete mess, and large plasters covered his face. Sadly, his clothes weren't any better. There were small tears in the fabric caused by Chaos Agent's sharp fingers. But what took him back the most was the stains of dried blood that still adorned it. For two days, TNTina tried to wash the red splatters out, but a few spots seemed to linger, much at her attempts at removing them.

He gave a defeated sign, still feeling feeble as he continued to limp to the dining room, making a note for himself to act normal during breakfast. Just pretend that nothing had happened to him. The last thing he wants is his friends to feel sorry for him. After all, he was already hosting his own pity party to himself. 

When he entered the room, both Skye and TNTina turned to look at him. Skye greeted her former boss while she picked up a spoon. TNTina waved with a piece of toast in her hand. Next to her, the newspaper laid open. "Morning Midas," The older women chirped. "You had a good night?"

Midas nodded in reply to Tina's question. He had his usual serious facial expression on him. He sat down at the end of the table, a bowl of porridge placed for him. "My night was actually quite pleasant, Tina," Midas spoke in his familiar formal and distant tone. He picked up the spoon as he continued to talk. "I trust the same for you two?"

Skye stayed smiling, watching her two friends talk to each other as they ate their breakfast. Though it was accurate that numerous things have changed for her, some things changed for the best. Back when he was the leader of Ghost, everything was strict, for the most part. The only time everyone would hang out together was when they were on missions or holding meetings. That was because everyone's bases where stationed at the edges of Apollo. It was rare for everyone to hang out together in person. That's the one thing Skye didn't like about The Shark. She was the definition of a social butterfly. She loved spending time with her friends. So seeing herself, Midas and TNTina, eating breakfast together while talking about subjects other than spy stuff made Skye's heart swell with merriment. However, when she turned to glance at Midas, her smile almost faded. Midas always took extra care into his appearance, making sure not a single hair was out of place. So to see him look so disheveled made Skye worry about him. It didn't help that there was an air of sadness to him that Skye unintentionally picked up on. Skye did have a talent for picking up on other people's emotions.

Skye was a caring person. It's how her parents raised her. "Take care of those who take care of you." That was what her father always said to her when she was younger. She's followed that saying ever since. Skye cares about her friends, and they care about her. Midas, Meowscles, Brutus and TNTina especially. The four of them always had time to spare to hang out with her. They were like older siblings to Skye. They were protective over her while also encouraging her to be the best she could be. All Skye wanted was to make them just as happy as she was, so when she looks at Midas and sees him looking and feeling miserable. Skye couldn't help but think to herself about what she can do to help him. She already spent her days spending time with Midas to make sure he doesn't die of boredom in that room, but what else can she do?

A bubbly knock at the front door caused TNTina to look up. "I got it." She muttered to herself, jumping up from the chair and walking down the hallway towards the front door. 

Midas and Skye looked towards each other as they both finished off their breakfast. She beamed at Midas as she spoke. "Glad to see your doing better, Midas." 

"I Wouldn't say I've completely recovered. But it's manageable now."

The two friends attention became drawn to the sound of the door opening. They heard Tina welcoming someone into the house. The other person's voice sounded muffled, so it was hard to tell who Tina was speaking too. Skye looked back at Midas to see him looking at the door behind her. What happened next took Skye back a bit. Midas began to smile. Sure, Midas smiled before, but those were fake smiles, only smiling because he had to, not because he wanted to. This time, it was a different kind of smile that Skye rarely sees him utter. It was a genuine, grinning smile. 

"Hey guys, sorry if I'm a little early." Skye was about to turn around to see who was making Midas smile. But a voice behind her made Skye stop in her tracks. She recognized that bubbly tone anywhere. 

"Zoey!" Skye beamed with glee, jumping from her seat and turning to look at her friend. Zoey giggled in response to her friend's reaction. The two hugged for a quick second. In one hand, Zoey was carrying a large box.

The two broke the hug as they remained smiling at each other. "Glad to see you here." Zoey chattered cheerfully, putting her free hand into her hoodie pocket. "I thought you were going to be on another one of your adventures again." 

"Well, so far, I haven't got anything planned for today. But that's the thing with adventures. They call on you when you least suspect it."

Skye turned back to the table. There she caught something unexpected. Midas was still smiling with glee, his eyes looking straight at Zoey. Curiosity began to rise in Skye. Why did Midas look so happy? Why was he looking at her? What did Zoey do to make Midas smile like that? When she took a closer look, Ske saw that Midas' pupils appeared to become dilated. 

Zoey smiled as she walked over to Midas, lifting the box close to him. She grinned, "Hey Midas, glad to see you're doing better."

"It will be a while before I'm 100% again," Midas responded, never taking his eyes off her. He gave a quick gaze at the box before questioning her. "What's in the box?"

Zoey bubbled, lightly hopping in one place as she opened up the box to reveal the contents inside. "Surprise, I went out and bought you some new clothes with the small, gold pieces we had to spare." 

Midas looked into the box. Inside there were new dress shirts, trousers, socks and a new suit vest. It looked identical to the one he was currently wearing. His eyes widen in awe while Skye leaned over to get a peek at them. "Zoey," Midas whispered in surprise, glancing up to her. "You didn't have to do this." His voice grew soft, making Skye more curious she's never heard Midas speak with such a soft tone before. 

"Nonescene Midas." Zoey Chimed in. "Plus, you needed new clothes anyway." She playfully tugged on his shirt. Almost immediately, she pulled away from him and turned to both Skye and TNTina. Her voice started to crumble. "Because-umm-well your other clothes look to be on their-ah-last legs."

TNTina grabbed onto her tattered shirt, staring straight at Zoey. "How come I didn't get any new clothes?" Tina questioned playfully. "Or have I been demoted to an acquaintance then?"

Zoey laughed at Tina's question. "Because that's your style. Your one of the few people that can pull it off." 

While Zoey and Tina talked to each other, Skye took another glance at Midas. He was staring at his new clothes before looking back at Zoey. His smile never faded. What happened next almost caused Skye to gasp in surprise. Midas was blushing. Skye had never seen her friend blush before. He was always distant and stoic, so to see him act so differently took her aback. Why was Midas like this? Skye began to think. Dilated eyes, soft voice, a full smile, blushing? What could this all mean? She started to put all the pieces together. Most commonly, all of them appeared together in someone who was in love-. 

Skye stopped mid-thought, her eyes darting to both Midas and Zoey at a rapid pace. No, it couldn't be. Was Midas in love? More importantly, was Midas in love with Zoey? It all made sense Midas was displaying the common signs of being in love, only showing up when she was near him. She recalled the past, four days. Midas always seemed to light up when Zoey arrived to spend time with him. The two would talk for hours over the most trivial things. They were always smiling throughout their time together. Could it be? 

Skye brought her attention to the two again, monitoring their every movement. Midas gently got out of his chair, holding onto the table as he tried to sort his balance out. Placing the lid back on the box, he picked it up. Zoey turned to look at him. The blush on his face faded, but his smile remained. 

"Thank you again, Zoey," Midas spoke, his tone still genital. "I'll switch into these new ones right now. It's better then wearing these raggedy things all the time." He gestured to his own tattered clothes, causing Zoey's smile to grow wider.

Zoey walked over to Midas. The two were inches away, which Skye took note of in her head. Midas had a pretty big bubble when it came to personal space, so seeing Midas physically close to a non-agent made her confident in her statement.

"Do you want me to help you carry the box upstairs?" Zoey asked, lifting out her hands to him.

Skye predicted for Midas to refuse her help. It makes sense Midas was quite stubborn at times, refusing to let anyone help him, especially at work. To Skye's awe. Midas replied to Zoey. "Yes, that would be great." He handed the box to Zoey as the two began to make their way towards the spare bedroom. Watching them smile when they walked up the stairs made Skye smirk as she realized that her analysis was on to something. Midas was in love, and he was in love with Zoey. Her smile grew wider as she imagined Zoey and Midas acting like a cute couple. The thought almost made her squeal with glee.

"Well, ain't this my lucky day." The sound of TNTina talking to herself sent Skye out of her daydreaming and back into reality. She turned her body to look at Tina. She was on her phone, looking at something. Tina popped her head up to see Skye staring at her curiously. Tina yapped at her. "Splatterella and Derby Dynamo have asked me to join them in Misty Meadows for a kart race. Want to come?"

Skye shook her head as Tina took glances at her phone to text the other girls. Skye's mind raced back to the idea of Midas being in love with Zoey. She decided to ask TNTina, vague questions to see if she wasn't misreading things.

"So," Skye hummed, her fingers fiddling with her blue jacket. "It's nice of Zoey to take care of him. They must have gotten pretty close during those couple of months."

Tina smiled. Looking back at Skye, she agreed. "Yeah, they seem like pretty good friends. Midas is lucky to have her."

Skye looked down on herself. Good friends? Did Skye see things that weren't there?

"Speaking of Zoey, one of her friend's told me that they think she might have a crush on someone."

Never before has Skye emotions rapidly switched from sadness to hope. Her eyes lit up as she directly looked into Tina's eyes. "She has a crush on someone?" Skye questioned at a rapid pace, causing TNTina, to promptly quite her in fear of Zoey hearing. 

"Well, that's what her friends are saying at least," Tina explained as she put her phone away and started to pick up the plates on the table and move them to the kitchen sink. Skye following behind her. "You can't deny it, she clearly showing signs of being in love, the blushing, her daydreaming during random conversations. When her friends ask her about it, she clams up. She's got the hots for someone, but we don't know who."

Skye's head began to ring. 'Zoey's in love with Midas. Zoey's in love with Midas'. Skye couldn't help but smile again. Two people who she cared about might be in love with each other. It's still not confirmed whether the person Zoey is crushing on is, in fact, Midas. She had to do some detective work. Fixing up her Ollie beanie, she prepared herself for today's adventure; Playing cupid.

Skye dashed up the wooden stairs. She caught a glimpse of Zoey leaving the bathroom. In her hand, she carried the first aid kit. The bandages, Skye slapped her cheek. She forgot that she was going to help Midas change and redress his injuries. After cursing to herself, she caught sight of Zoey again, the two friends locked in eye contact.

"Hey, Skye," Zoey sang, waving a free hand at her. "Anything on your mind?"

Skye walked over to Zoey, pushing the thoughts of earlier in the back of her mind. She chirped. "Not a lot. I just came up to help Midas with his bandages."

"Good timing then. I just picked up the first aid kit." Zoey gestured to the green med-kit in her hand. "We could help him together if you like."

Looking between Midas' door, the first aid kit and Zoey. Skye nodded in agreement to her friend as they walked together to Midas' room. 

Now or never, Skye was going to get to the bottom of this. She had to make sure with 100% certainty that the person Zoey was crushing on was Midas. "Zoey?" Skye inquired, looking straight at the older girl. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, of course. What do you want to know?"

After her bubbly answer, Skye went to think about what exactly she should ask her. She remembered Tina saying that Zoey calmed up when asked about having a crush. She had to be careful with her words. Skye found the words getting caught up in her throat. She should have thought more about this. 

Before Skye was about to speak, she found both herself and Zoey standing in front of the door. Skye turned back to look at Zoey, who was still waiting for her question. "I'll ask it later, right now, we got more important things to do," Skye attested, reaching her hand out to the gold handle in front of her.

Inside the room, Midas sat on the bed, looking at his bandages. Next to him, the box was open, and his new clothes laid neatly folded beside him. Skye looked back at Midas. He was shirtless, holding his old shirt and vest in his hands as he turned to look at the two. "Hey, Skye." He greeted his friend with a nod.

"Hey, Midas." Skye smiled enthusiastically, waving her hand at him as she spoke. "I'm here to help you with the bandages." Skye took a quick look at the bandages that adorned his body, most of them where covered in dry blood. "By the time I'm done, the dressings would be as good as new." Skye turned to look at her friend next to her. Her smile faded slightly in surprise when she saw Zoey's face. Zoey wasn't looking at Midas. Her face turned to the side, and her hand covered her sight. Her face was as red as a strawberry. Skye looked closer at Zoey, the corners of her lips pulled sideways, and her eyebrows narrowed. Skye knew what face Zoey was making. She was embarrassed. 

At that moment, both girls locked eyes on one another. Immediately Zoey pulled her hand away, turning to look at Midas, the red on her face beginning to fade. "Yep. That's what we're here for." Zoey spluttered, her weight shifting from side to side while she scratched the back of her neck with her spare hand. The two walked over to Midas with the med-kit in hand, ready to assist him with his injuries. 

Both girls sat next to Midas on each side of the bed, wearing Sterile gloves. They began to remove the bandages and clean the wounds behind them. Midas remained still, letting his friends examine each of his wounds. Mainly on his upper arms. His eye followed Skye, watching her monitor one of the injuries on his left arm. 

"Any large amounts of blood?" Midas heard a question to his right. Thanks to his blind eye, he couldn't see Zoey on his right side, which annoyed him for some reason. It was probably for this best, he didn't know why, but every time he looked into Zoey's eyes, he gets this weird, fluttery sensation in his stomach, which annoyed and intrigued him. He continued to look at Skye as she answered Zoey's questions.

"Nope"

"Ok, any signs of pus?"

"No."

"Foul smell or swelling?"

"No, and no."

"Does it feel warm to the touch?"

The feeling of the cold, sterile gloves touching his wound almost made Midas jolt at the sensation. He kept himself still for Zoey and Skye. He moved his head to look at his chest, staring at both the tattoos and bandages that covered it. He countered himself lucky as many of his tattoos where spared from injury, and the ones that didn't only have minor scratches to them. 

"Nope, it's all good here, Zoey," Skye stated cheerfully, letting go of Midas' arm and reaching into the med-kit for some medicine, medical tape and bandages. Midas turned to stare at the cloth in Skye's hand. It had a little bit of dry blood on it.

A small laugh from his right bought Midas' attention to it. He could hear Zoey talking to him. "Good news Midas," She bubbled, feeling her hands grab onto his upper arm. "By the looks of things, most of your injuries don't need to be re-bandaged again. The best thing we can do for them is giving them air," Midas felt a small smirk grow on his face as he listened to Zoey. "I'm impressed, your healing a lot quicker then we thought." 

"Well, the sooner I'm healed, the sooner I can go back and clear-Agh." Midas hissed when he felt a gentle sting on the left side of his arm. He turned his head to see Skye looking at him, appearing apologetic.

"Sorry, Midas," Skye fretted, moving her hands back to one of his wounds. 

"You know what," Zoey spoke up as she let go of Midas' arm. "I think the plasters on your face can come off now." Carefully, Midas moved his right hand to touch the plasters. On his face, there were two, one across his chin and another on his left cheek. 

"Do you think so?" Midas questioned, his hand dancing across the plaster on his cheek.

Zoey brushed her fingers on his shoulder as she answered his question. "I'm sure of it they where only grazes. If not, I'm sure it won't hurt to give them some air." 

Listing to Zoey, Midas grabbed onto the edge of the plaster on his chin, being as careful as he can. He peeled it off. He studied it in his golden hand before lifting his head. "Well," Midas spoke. "How does it look?"

"It scabbed over, which is good," Skye chimed in, looking away from the injuries on his arm. 

Midas tried to turn to look at Zoey, but his blind eye and her position made it difficult for him. He could only see half of her face. "Just don't pick at it, and you'll be ok." The giggle that came after Zoey spoke made Midas smile. 

Skye watched with intensity when she saw Midas blush and smile following Zoey's words. It was becoming so clear to her that he was in love. She needed to do something, but what? "Hey, Midas?" Skye inquired, moving her hand to hold his. "How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm feeling alright. Why do you ask?" Midas turned to look at Skye, and his smile quickly faded. 

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't have a fever or chills. We don't want you to get sick. You were fighting in the rain, after all," Skye pointed out, gazing briefly at his wounds. "Zoey, can you check his head? Just in case, his cheeks look a little pink," She smirked, letting go of Midas' hand.

Before Midas was about to rebuttal Skye, he felt a soft hand place itself on top of his head. He felt his cheeks grow hotter as Zoey's hand remained on his head. "Seems ok to me," beamed Zoey, looking at his rose coloured cheeks.

Midas turned to stare at Skye, noticing a little smile appear on her face. A jingle from Zoey's phone bought both of there attention to her. Again, Midas couldn't see her from his angle, but he could hear Zoey open up her phone and text someone, judging by the tapping on the screen.

"Just got a text from Jules," She clarified to them. "She wanted to know how you were doing, Midas."

"You could tell her I'm doing ok at the moment," Midas replied, turning his head straight. "Can you ask her where she is? I thought she would be coming round today?"

Zoey looked away from her phone to look back at Midas. "She was, but other things came up. It's not easy being an Engineer and the leader of a former evil organization." She stared at Midas, seeing his smile fade slightly. Zoey's attention became drawn to one of Midas' hands. The plaster in his hand had turned to gold. "Midas?" She asked. "Why did you turn one of your plasters golden?"

Midas looked into his hand with confusion. He was almost taken aback by the golden plaster. Why did he do that? Typically, when he turned things to gold, it was by his control. He decides what he can and won't turn to gold. The only time he loses control of his powers was when he feels extreme emotions. Midas thought to himself. He didn't feel any intense emotions during that short period, or did he? "I don't know," was all he could answer to Zoey before he went to remove the other plaster that adorned his face.

Skye stared both at Midas and the golden plaster. She saw that Midas was confused about this. It must have been his emotions that caused it, remembering Midas blushing when Zoey was close to him earlier. The thought almost made Skye giggle at the situation suddenly. A question popped up in her head. Did Midas not know he was in love? 

"And we're done." Zoey sang in her usual chipper tone as she jumped off the bed and picked up the med-kit by her side. Skye followed while Midas took a look at his arms and chest. Instead of bandages and plasters. Scabs and bruises now covered his body, except for a small number of clean dressings left on him. 

"Thanks, I appreciate the help," Midas spoke softly to his friends. He struggled when he said 'help'. He didn't like to admit it, but he can get pretty stubborn at times. The last thing he would want is for people to help him. However, with everything going on, he's become more willing to the idea of others helping him. If for a few minor things.

He stopped thinking when his eye caught a glimpse of Zoey picking up his old clothes. The two grinning as they unintentionally stared at one another. 

"I'll throw these away for you," She smiled, scratching the back of her neck again with her spare hand. Zoey's eyes darted to his new clothes. "It's best if we give you some privacy to uh-change, yes change," Zoey spluttered, feeling her cheeks growing red again. 

Before he was about to speak, Zoey was already halfway through the door, her head turning to meet Skye. "You coming?"

Skye nodded, waving goodbye to Midas as she followed her friend down the stairs. 

Taking a couple of glances at her phone as Zoey tossed Midas' old clothes into the bin. Skye began to look up different kinds of information that she could use to get Midas and Zoey closer together. She soon found herself on a website were people can anonymously ask questions to other people online. In her honest opinion, Skye found the website to be pretty funny. A majority of questions where questions that people refused to admit to asking them in public. However, there were some questions that she saw that seemed to be asking for advice. Maybe this site could help her? 

She typed her question on the page. "I think my friends like each other. How can I help them get together?" Fingers crossed, she might get some helpful answers. Looking back on her phone, she got some responses. They all seemed varied to her. Some didn't take the question seriously, while others told her different kinds of advice. However, one answer from another anonymous user piqued her interest. "Don't pressure them into a relationship that won't end well if you do that. If they get along with each other and enjoy the other's company, they'll probably get together without help. Relationships take time to form. You can't rush them." Skye smiled, reading the response. The best thing she can do was to be a good friend to them. She also needed to see if Midas was aware of his own feelings considering he didn't turn the plaster gold by choice. It seems more likely that he didn't know that he had a crush on Zoey. 

"So," Skye's head perked up from her phone when she heard Zoey start to talk to her. "What was the question you wanted to ask me earlier?" She turned her attention to Skye, resting by the bin as her smile grew.

Now was the right time Skye was ready to talk to Zoey about her crush. Putting her phone away, she laid by the counter across her and began to speak. "I was just wondering if you liked anyone?"

Zoey gave a small chuckle as she started to fiddle with her fingers. "What do you mean?" Smiled Zoey, "I like everyone on Apollo, well, a majority at least."

Skye shook her head with a chuckle. "No, not like that. I meant something more romantically, like a crush."

Almost in an instant, Zoey's cheeks began to turn red as she stopped fiddling with her fingers and went to play with her hair. "What?!" Her eyes darted around the room, "Skye, what brought this up? You're not normally interested in my love life."

"I was asking because I was curious, that's all. I've heard people saying you have a crush on someone so, I wanted to see if it's true. I'm not going to judge you if that's what you're worried about, Zoey. You're my friend the last thing I would want to do is spill your secret out to the public."

"I-um-well-you heard-oh." Zoey felt flustered. Sure she could easily lie to Skye and pretend she never spoke the question. But it was hard for her to lie in situations like these. She felt trapped in a corner. Zoey knows that Skye won't be satisfied with half-truths or her dodging the question. But she couldn't tell her she had a crush on her former boss and close friend. Zoey panicked internally as her brain went to work on a response. She huffed in defeat, speaking with frustration. "Ok! Fine, I admit it." Zoey didn't mean for her voice to be that loud. She quieted down a little to make sure Midas didn't hear. "I think I may like someone."

Skye smirked, skipping over to Zoey, laying next to her by the bin. "Aww, Zoey, that's so cute," Skye giggled, nudging her in the shoulder. She began to think again, she had to be careful with what she was going to say, one wrong move, and it's all over. "It's ok to be in love, you know, everyone gets crushes, well most people at least."

The younger girl watched Zoey's face start to lose its red shade, though a small blush remained. "Just don't tell anyone, ok?" Zoey smiled, scratching the back of her neck again.

"I won't tell a single soul," Skye beamed, placing a finger close to her lips. "I cross my heart," She continued, making an 'X' motion across her chest with her finger. "But can you at least tell me some things about them? You don't have to tell me their name, only things that you're comfortable with." 

Zoey moved from scratching her neck to playing with her hair again, smiling as she talked. Careful not to let Skye know the identity of her crush. "Well, it's a guy. He's tall, sweet, handsome, has the cutest laugh I've ever heard." Skye noticed Zoey begin to swoon in her voice as she proceeded to list off more things about her crush, becoming lost in thought. "He's a skilled musician. The music he plays is just divine. They have the cutest tattoos I've ever seen. He's the only guy who gets my science jokes. He's passionate, intelligent, and he can be such a dork sometimes." Zoey laughed at her last statement before turning to look at Skye, her face burning hot again.

Holding in a giggle, Skye grinned at her friend. "Well, he sounds like a nice guy. Are you going to ask him out?" 

"What? I-umm," Zoey's eyes darted around the room. She took a deep breath, replying in a somber tone. "That would be nice, but I don't think I should."

"Why not? You like him. What's stopping you from asking him out."

Zoey's head hung low, she lamented. "It's not that simple. Just because I like him doesn't mean he likes me back."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because we're friends, he'll only see me as a friend. I care about him, Skye. The last thing I would want to do is lose my friendship with him. I've lost so much over the years I don't want to lose him too."

The younger girl took a closer look at Zoey, her eyes growing misty as she spoke. She reassured her by placing a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it slightly. Skye began to think up ideas on how to cheer up her friend. "Most of the time, friends fall in love with each other who's to say that your crush doesn't like you back. What if he has feelings for you."

"Well, he sometimes gets awkward around me. He blushes a lot as well. But I doubt it's because of me."

Skye looked up to the ceiling. "Emotions are complicated there even more complicated when their not your own. The way you talk about him, I reckon he might like you too." Her head tilted to Zoey. "whether you confess to him or not, I'm sure he'll understand where you're coming from, Zoey. You care a lot about him. Just listen to your heart, and all will be ok." 

Just as Skye finished her rambling, Zoey went in and hugged her friend. She pulled away quickly to wipe a small tear off her face. "I just want him to be happy, even if it's not me he likes." 

Skye pulled Zoey back in for another hug. The bright yellow sun shined through the window in front of the girls. 

Midas stared at himself in the large mirror in the bedroom. A comb in his hand as he brushed his hair back into its usual style. He took a couple of glances at the new clothes that adorned him, no bloodstains and no tears in the fabric. If you ignored the scabs on his face and the injuries on his arms, he would look normal, back to how he used to look before everything changed. With his free hand, he touched the new suit vest with his fingers. The fabric felt so soft on his hands. He smiled to himself, making a mental note to repay Zoey for her kind deed.

A knock on the door brought Midas out of his thoughts. He turned his head to the door. "Come in." His voice called out in his usual formal tone. The door opened, and Skye bounced into the room, a huge smile plastered on her face. She stopped in her tracks to view Midas' new clothes. They looked almost identical to his old ones with a few minor differences. 

"Looking good, Midas." Skye approved, nodding her head while giving him a thumbs up. 

"Thanks, Skye. I appreciate the compliment," Midas replied as he finished brushing his hair. 

In a hurry, Skye glanced around the room, trying to find anything to start a conversation with him that would lead to discussing his feelings. Her eyes quickly darted to the golden plaster that now laid on the bedside desk. She decided that the golden object would be a great way to start the conversation. "What are you going to do with it?" She questioned, pointing her finger at the golden plaster. 

Midas turned to look at what she was pointing at, staring back at Skye, he muttered in his usual cold tone. "I'll get rid of it. It's not like I need a memoir for my injuries." He limped as he headed towards his bed, sitting down at the edge, looking back to Skye.

"I still find it weird that you turned it to gold," Skye muttered, walking closer to Midas. "You normally have control over your powers." Her tone was caring as she stared down at him. 

"I do," Midas blurted out. "I just don't know why I turned it to gold. I wasn't thinking about transforming it. I wasn't angry or sad. I just can't wrap my head around it." He looked down at his shoes, mumbling a defeated sigh. 

Skye gazed at Midas. It was clear to her that he was confused about what happened earlier. It only gave Skye more motivation to help him out. "You must have been feeling something huge for that to happen though," She straightened her beanie on her head as she resumed speaking. "You mentioned that you only lose control of your powers when you feel intense emotions. You never specified it being a specific emotion to trigger it. Do you remember what emotions you felt while you held the plaster?"

Rising his head up to Skye, he began to look back on what happened a couple of minutes ago. "Embarrassment?" Midas stated. He didn't sound confident in his statement. "When Zoey put her hand to my face because you told her to check for a fever." The words he spoke had an annoyed undertone to them.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't get an infection from your wounds. Can you blame me? Your cheeks were turning pink," Skye pointed out as she went to sit next to Midas, who was now giving her a flustered glare. "No offence, but you didn't sound sure when you said, 'embarrassment' why was that?" 

Midas sighed before talking again. The tone in his voice was far from confident. "I don't know, Skye. It's the only thing I could think of right now. What I felt was something other than embarrassment, but I don't know what."

"Can you describe it?"

"Well, I-," Midas shifted in his seat. He felt awkward explaining his emotions, especially to Skye. Being vulnerable and open to others was so foreign to him. "It's weird. It's more of a combination of feelings. I couldn't focus. My pulse was rushing. My hands were clammy. Not to mention the strange fluttery sensation I had in my stomach, I felt a mixture of things, fear, confusion, happiness. I just don't know what to make of it." He moved his head to look back at Skye, expecting her to look at him with a sympathetic expression on her face. Instead, he saw Skye smiling, her eyes wide as her smile growing larger by the second. 

"Oh my goodness, Midas," Skye squealed, trying to contain her giggles. Midas stared at Skye in confusion, wondering why's she gotten so worked up about the situation. She spoke again with her tone raised with joy. "I know what's going on with you. What you're describing, it sounds like your in love."

Skye jumped off the bed in glee, hoping in place as Midas continued to stare at her. He slowly shook his head whilst speaking in an agitated tone. "Skye, please take this seriously."

"But I am taking it seriously," Skye beamed as she stopped bouncing in from of him. "All that you've just described are common signs for people being in love. Midas, you got a crush on someone." 

"I don't," Midas objected, his cheeks growing redder by the second. He stood up from the bed to make himself taller than Skye. His body staggered when he got up to her eye level. 

"Midas, It's ok to be in love. There's nothing wrong with that. It's so obvious. Look at you. Your getting flustered just talking about it."

Midas turned his head to the mirror, hanging on the wall. Skye wasn't wrong. Midas' cheeks were as red as cherries. Still, he refused to believe her. "Skye, listen to me." He countered, "I don't have a crush on anyone."

"Prove it, prove to me you don't have a crush on anyone. Please give me a valid reason as to why I'm wrong. If you don't have feelings for anyone, why are you getting so defensive about it?" 

"You-I," Midas tried, but he couldn't rebuttal Skye's words. He looked within himself, trying to find something, anything to counterclaim her statement. It can't be possible. Midas can't be in love. Those weird uncertain feelings returned to him, causing him to become slightly overwhelmed in this situation. He couldn't seem to think straight. Skye seemed to take notice, watching as his hands clasped together. The gold started sparkling violently in the sunlight. 

"Skye," Midas breathed heavily, no longer thinking as the words escaped his lips. "You need to stop seeing things that aren't there. Whatever you're assuming, it's not true. I don't know where you get your information from, but it's false. I don't have feelings for Zoey."

"I never said you did."

Midas' eyes shot open. His hands hang loosely, and his mouth opened slightly. He spaced out with a look that seemed to say, 'what did I just say?'. He slowly blinked as he made the realization of what he just said. No, no, he did not just say that that's impossible Midas can't be in love with her. Suddenly all the memories he had of Zoey began playing in his head and the weird feeling he had returned. His pules rushed, his face flustered. He grew weak at the knees as the fluttery feeling in his stomach returned. The mental image of Zoey smiling and their stargazing session made Midas stutter a bit as he gently moved himself to sit back down on the bed. He felt like he unlocked something in his brain that he had been forcing himself to avoid for a long time. It soon became apparent that these feelings that once seemed so foreign were now familiar to him. He remembered feeling them with his past lovers. Everything became so clear to him. His inability to stop staring at Zoey and how every time he was with her. He felt happier, regardless of the situation. 

"Midas? You ok?" Skye asked, looking at her friend, who now adorned a shocked expression on his face.

"No," was the only thing Midas could say in a hushed whisper, though it seemed like he was talking to himself rather than responding to Skye's question. "I can't be-" His voice soon returned to its natural volume. "I'm such an idiot." Midas' head hung low as he covered his face with his hands.

"Midas?" Skye fretted, moving closer to Midas, kneeling to get on his eye level. She took a look at his face through the space between his fingers. His cheeks were still flustered while he appeared to be embarrassed. If anything good happened here, it was that Skye helped Midas discover his feelings for Zoey. 

The golden man's eyes made contact with Skye. He swallowed his pride as he finally spoke to Skye. "Don't tell her." Skye gave a sympathetic look. She rubbed one of his shoulders for comfort. 

Putting the newspaper to the side as she picked up her phone. Zoey stared at the screen while she sat on one of the small sofas in the living room. She gazed upon her reflection. Zoey's eyes were still red and puffy. "Why am I like this?" She whispered to herself as she read through her text messages. She felt like a fool for telling Skye about her feelings. She felt like an even bigger fool for crying about it, though she can't blame herself. She loved Midas so much, the only thing she wants is for him to be happy, and she was at a dead end with what to do about her feelings. Should she tell him? Midas might reciprocate her feelings, leading to the two being together. But, on the other hand, it seemed more likely that Midas would reject her. Zoey was in a dilemma. Even if Midas didn't feel the same way, would he still want to be friends with her?

She stopped staring at her phone when she heard Skye running down the stairs. Their eyes met the moment Skye touched the bottom of the stairs. Zoey gave a warm smile to her friend as she inquired her. "Where did you run off too?" A giggle followed her question.

Skye bit her bottom lip, walking closer to Zoey, trying not to spill the information she's just gotten. She answered with a lie, "I just went to check up on Midas, and I ended up getting a text from a friend," She waved her phone out as she continued to talk. "I ended up losing track of time. Sorry for leaving you alone for so long."

"It's ok," Zoey reassured her, putting her phone away. "I needed to be alone to think about everything. About what I want to do."

The younger girl put her phone away, sitting next to Zoey, staring at her both with care and intensity to see what she was going to say.

"I've been thinking about it, and I want to confess to him-" Before Zoey could finish her sentence, Skye lunged at her and proceeded to give her friend a tight hug. Zoey was taken aback by it, not expecting Skye to respond to her like that. Almost immediately, Skye pulled away, keeping both her hands on Zoey's shoulders. 

Skye smiled as she apologized to her. "Sorry, it's just I want you to be happy, Zoey. I know it's not easy to confess your feelings to someone you truly care about but don't worry. I will help you in any way I can."

Zoey grinned back at Skye. She could feel her eyes growing misty again. She looked up to the ceiling and started to take some deep breaths to prevent herself from crying again. "Thank you, Skye," Zoey smiled, staring back at her friend. "To tell you the truth, I'm just scared about the outcome. I don't want to lose him, but I really want to tell him how much I like him."

"I understand. I think you should confess. It's probably best that you let him know how much you care about them. Luckily you got your best friend here to help you out." She pulled her hands off Zoey. "So how are you going to confess to him? Romantic dinner? Or something more unique?" 

Zoey's grew flustered, her eyes widening in surprise. "Whoa, wait a minute," Zoey gasped in a panic. "I'm not going to confess to him now. There's too much going on. I'm not ready."

"Then we'll plan something," Skye chirped, pulling out her phone again and opening up the calendar app. "You can pick a day to confess to him, make it your deadline. It will give you time to work on your confession, and it will help you to prepare yourself so you won't be as nervous about it."

"That's a good idea. Yeah, ok, let's pick a date."

Zoey leaned over to Skye's phone as they both looked through the dates displayed on her screen. Zoey began to hum when she looked through the dates. "How about the twenty-no, wait-umm. Let's see. Maybe we could put it at the end of the month." 

"Alright, I'll set it for the 30th then. That will give you plenty of time." 

Skye looked back on Zoey to see that she had calmed down over the situation. Both smiled as they began to type up the deadline on Skye's phone. 

The air was still as Skye stood in front of the door to Midas' room. She was hesitant to see him again after what happened to him earlier. Sure it was amusing at first seeing Midas all flustered when Skye accused him of being in love. But seeing him turn shell shocked when he discovered he had feelings for Zoey shook Skye up a bit. In all the years she's known him, she's never seen Midas that shaken up before. She tried to comfort him, but he seemed too lost in thought to hear her. She had to leave him to see Zoey. The last thing she saw before closing the door was Midas hunched over the bed with his head in his hands. Taking in a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

"Yes?" His voice sounded numb.

"It's me, Skye. I came to check up on you. You're doing ok?" Skye questioned through the door, making sure that she wasn't loud enough for Zoey to hear her. Skye placed her ear to the door after Midas failed to give her an answer. All she could hear was the sound of footsteps. Skye sighed, grabbing onto the door handle to open it. Inside the room, Midas was limply pacing in front of the bed. His hands placed behind his head, Skye gave a quiet sigh. She knew what this meant. Midas was nervous. 

"Midas?" Skye questioned in a whisper, closing the door behind her and walking towards her friend. 

"How?" Midas mumbled to himself, still pacing in front of the bed. "How did I not know? Why didn't I know?" He moved his hands to his face. "How could I have been so blind?"

"To be fair, you only have one good eye." Skye tried to lighten up the mood for his sake. Midas stopped pacing and turned to face Skye, giving her a flustered glare. She had to admit. She found it amusing to see her typically serious-faced friend turn into a flustered mess. 

"Midas, it's ok to be in love and miss the signs. Trust me. I know what it's like to have a crush on someone. It can blind-wait, no that's not an appropriate word to use right now. What I mean is sometimes you can like someone so much that you don't even know you're in love with them. Emotions are complicated." 

Staring at his friend while listening to every word she says. Midas gave a quiet sigh before speaking to her. "It's just it's been so long since I felt this way for another person, and we all know how that turned out." His voice had a sorrow tone to it as he turned his head away from Skye. "Out of everyone on Apollo who I could've loved, I ended up falling for someone that I cared so much for." 

A soft 'aww' from Skye brought Midas' attention back to her. Skye beamed. "That was the sweetest thing I've heard from you." Her hands clapped with glee while Midas scratched his neck in embarrassment. "You love Zoey. How cute is that? So when are you going to ask her out?"

"Never," Midas didn't intend for his tone to sound so harsh. After he said that, his lips formed a frown, and his body drooped. He lamented, "I can't-I can't, Skye."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want her to get hurt." Midas slumped back down on his bed, muttering a painful groan in the process, forgetting about his injuries. Skye walked closer to Midas, sitting next to him on the mattress as she listened to his rant. "I'm dangerous, Skye. Half the island wants me dead over, lies and misunderstandings. Not to mention some members of Shadow are still out for my blood. If people find out I'm in love with Zoey, they will hurt her. I can't put her through that. The last thing I would want is for any harm to come to her." 

Skye felt her vision grow blurry as She quickly went to wipe a small tear from her eye. She rubbed his shoulder, speaking to him with a caring voice. "You know what I find so ridiculous about you, Midas? You always claim that you're an emotionless businessman that has nothing good to their name. But, from what I've seen. That's so far from the truth when you where the leader of Ghost. You've made sure that you did everything in your power to protect everyone from Shadow. You personally checked over every one of your employees just to make sure no harm came to them. Whenever me, Tina, Brutus or Meowscles had a problem, you were always the first to respond to us. Night or day, you'd throw your work away and travel halfway through Apollo to help us."

All Midas could do was stare at Skye as she continued to rant to him, a small grin appearing on his lips. Her words seemed to tug at his heartstrings.

"You said that half of the island wanted you dead. Well, what have you, your friends and Zoey been doing? Clearing your name, and so far, it seems to be working. Almost everyone now knows the truth. Shadow framed you. Speaking of Shadow, it's become a diminished agency. Jules is in charge of it now, and she is making sure that no one from Shadow can hurt you or anyone else here. Remember the night you fought with Chaos Agent. You arrived at my house needing urgent medical care while Zoey carried you to safety. There wasn't a single scratch on her because you protected her. You kept her safe from him. Midas, you are far from dangerous. You're the most caring and empathetic man on Apollo that I have met. The best thing you can do right now is let Zoey know how you truly feel about her." Skye took a deep breath, collapsing on the bed with a sigh, staring up at the broad, white ceiling. 

"Skye?" Midas gasped, looking down at the younger agent next to him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, it feels good speaking the truth." She sat herself up on the bed, turning back to look at Midas. "You really care about her, don't you?"

The only thing Midas could do was slowly nod his head while he wiped some tears from his eyes. He groaned internally. He was not used to this.

"Can't wait to see you ask her out. It's going to be so adorable. I can help plan it if you want." Skye chorused, standing up from the bed with a jump.

Midas crossed his arms together as he stared at Skye while making unsteady eye contact. He spoke hesitantly. "Umm, Skye? How do you tell someone you like them?"

At that moment, Skye went from looking happy to surprised her eyes grew wide as she yelped. "What? You don't know how to ask anyone out?"

"Hey, in my defense, everyone I've ever dated has always made the first move. I'm not used to it."

Skye glanced down, speaking again in her usual caring tone. "Well, if you want to confess to Zoey, I've got a few pointers that could help."

"What kind of Kart race has a paintball after-party?" Zoey giggled while she watched TNTina clean some paint off her face by the kitchen sink.

Tina smiled with a crooked grin before yelling with passion. "Only the best Kart racing tournament Apollo has to offer! Oh, Zoey, it was brilliant. You have got to join my friends and me when we have another round soon." 

Zoey chuckled, picking up a small towel and helping TNTina remove some paint off her arm. "I like the sound of that," she laughed. "I can show all your friends how bad your aim is when compared to me." 

"Oi," Tina laughed, playfully splashing some water on Zoey's hand, causing her friend to erupt in a laughing fit.

"I'm kidding." 

The two girls' play fighting was interrupted when they heard a cough from behind them. Zoey and Tina turned around to see Skye standing behind them with a sweet smile plastered on her face. 

"Hey, Tina," Skye chirped happily, fiddling with her beanie. "Why are you covered in paint splats?"

"Oh, Skye, you would not believe what happened to me at the Kart race. You're going to regret not coming with me when you hear it."

Skye placed her hand up before she spoke. "While I would love to hear the story about that. I think I have something more important to show."

Before Tina and Zoey could question Skye about what was going on, Skye moved one hand to the kitchen door, opening it as she spoke. "May I present to you two the new Midas." When she opened the door, Midas stepped through the kitchen, showing off his new clothes while holding a red rose in his right hand. He pulled a formal pose before turning to look at the two girls in front of him. 

Midas and Zoey seemed to stop in their tracks the moment their eyes met. For a second, there was silence. The only thing those two could focus on at that moment was each other. 

Zoey was the one to break the silence, smiling as she spoke. "Oh my goodness, Midas, you look amazing!" 

"All thanks to you, Zoey. You where the one to buy the clothes." Midas noted. "I'm still going to repay you for that." He scratched the back of his neck, still gazing at Zoey. 

In response, Zoey started to mirror his movements as she smiled at him. "You don't have to, Midas. You know I'd do anything to help you."

The cute face Zoey pulled made Midas turn his head. He stopped when he finally noticed Tina and her paint-splattered body. "What the hell happened to you?" Midas deadpanned.

"Oh, so you finally notice me now." Tina teased, pulling a face at her friend.

"To be fair, you're on my bad side," Midas defended, pointing to his blind eye with his free hand.

Tina sighed with a chuckle. "It's unfair that you're half-blind, yet you're better at aiming then me. If you weren't injured, you could have joined me in the paintball after-party, and I could have won." A laugh escaped her lips. "God, today was such fun. I just might consider this my new best day."

"That's a pretty bold statement considering it hasn't even turned one yet."

Zoey's eyes opened wide when she heard Skye speak. "Wait, it's almost one?" Zoey turned to the clock on the wall, the time reading 12:46 PM. She arrived at Tina and Skye's house at 8:12 AM. Had Zoey really been here for four hours? "Looks like I gotta make a move," Zoey sighed as she went to pick up a towel to dry her hands. 

"Wait, now?" Midas lamented, turning back to look at Zoey.

"Afraid so, but don't worry, I'll be here tomorrow to see you again. Oh-and you guys as well." Zoey blushed a little at the end of her sentence. 

"Wait, Zoey, before you leave, I need to say something," Midas announced, still gazing at her.

"What is it, Midas?"

Midas tried to speak, but no words came out of him. He felt his pulse rush when he stared into Zoey's eyes again. Her bubbly voice and cute face almost made him melt. He mentally slapped himself for not getting the words out. He could feel Skye nudging him in the back for support, but that only seemed to make him more nervous.

"Midas?"

"Thank you." Midas blurted out in a stammer. "Thank you for helping me throughout everything that's happened in the past months. I know I sound like a broken record, but I sincerely mean it from the bottom of my heart. I'm grateful that our paths crossed together." He looked down to his hands in his right hand. The rose had turned from red to gold.

His eyes focused on Zoey. She was smiling as her eyes sparkled. She reached out a had to him but immediately retracted when she noticed Skye and Tina looking at her. Zoey cooed quietly. "I grateful that we became close too."

Midas and Skye sat at the dining table while Tina was preparing lunch in the kitchen. For a while, nobody spoke. Skye stared at Midas, watching him twirl the golden rose in his hand with a sorrowful face.

"It's ok, Midas," Skye reassured him. "You got nervous that happens to everyone. You weren't ready to confess, that's all."

"If I don't confess to her now, then when?" Midas questioned as his face fell on the table surface in defeat. He mumbled. "I'm a world-class spy. I've conducted countless, life-threatening mission on my own without fear, yet here I am jittering over asking a girl out. What's happened to me?"

Skye gave Midas a gentle pat on the back, smiling at her friend. "Romance makes us do weird things sometimes. They even cause us to act out of character." Midas lifted his head from the table as he listened to Skye. "You just need to practice more, that's all."

"How do I do that?"

The young girl giggled at his question. "You can practice with a mirror. All you need to do is say, 'Zoey, I like you'. Just keep doing that over and over again until you get comfortable saying it. That's what I typically do when I got a crush on someone." 

Midas rested his hand on his head as he continued to look at the golden rose. "Skye, can you make a promise to me?" He asked her.

"Yeah, of course. What is it?" 

"Don't tell a single soul about this. Not our friends and definitely not Zoey, please."

Skye bit her lower lip when she heard Midas say Zoey's name. She pondered if she should tell him. But Skye promised Zoey that they weren't going to let anyone know of her crush. She looked back at Midas as she answered with a grin. "I pinky promise that I shan't tell a soul." She lifted her hand to Midas, showing off her pinky finger.

"Skye. Please take this seriously." 

"But I am taking this seriously." She wiggled her finger, smiling at her friend. In defeat, Midas lifted his hand to Skye, their pinky fingers hooking together for a quick second before pulling their hands away. Skye giggled throughout the process. 

After the pinky promised had been made, Skye began to utter an apology to Midas. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just so giddy about this. I've never played matchmaker for a friend before."

Midas shook his head while grinning at his friend. All of this was new to him. His ability to be vulnerable around people he cared for and learning about his feelings for Zoey was something he didn't expect to happen today. Twirling the rose in his hand again, he made a quiet promise to himself that he's going to tell Zoey how much they loved her, even if it will take a while before he can do so.


End file.
